University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman announced Monday that she has appointed a three-person task force that will conduct a wide-ranging review of the university’s policies and procedures in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing.

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman announced Monday that she has appointed a three-person task force that will conduct a wide-ranging review of the university’s policies and procedures in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Montana State University President Dr. Waded Cruzado will chair the task force, which will also be comprised of University of Connecticut President Dr. Susan Herbst and James Bueerrmann, president of the Police Foundation in Washington, D.C.

The panel is charged with conducting a full review of UMass Dartmouth’s policies and procedures, including those relating to emergency public safety planning, academics and financial policies, procedures to maintaining “student in good standing” status, as well as the policies and procedures relating to the recruitment and support of international students.

Grossman has asked that the task force complete its report by Aug. 15.

“Universities play an important role in ensuring that international students are in compliance with the requirements of their student visas. That responsibility, as well as our duty to maintain a safe and secure campus environment, will be key areas in this review and I look forward to this panel’s findings,” Grossman said.

“In undertaking this review we have the opportunity to look closely at ourselves and be a model of accountability and transparency for others."

“It’s an honor to be tasked with this important initiative for a university that has provided access to a premier higher education for so many students who might otherwise not have that opportunity,” said Cruzado, the former provost and interim president of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M.

“My colleagues on this task force bring greatly valued perspective, experience and credentials to this mission. The work begins today,” Cruzado said.

While UMass Dartmouth has received “positive feedback” from law enforcement authorities, students, and parents for how the university responded to one of its students, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, being identified as one of the two bombing suspects, Grossman said it was important to examine the university’s policies and procedures.

“We need to know what we did well and where we can improve so that our university and others across the nation can learn lessons from our experience,” Grossman said in prepared remarks.

The task force will have full access to all “necessary university resources and personnel, and the cooperation of everyone” at UMass Dartmouth, Grossman said.

In prepared remarks, University of Massachusetts President Robert L. Caret, applauded the creation of the task force, and commended UMass Dartmouth for its “exemplary” performance in the days and weeks after the bombing, which included the April 19 evacuation of the entire campus.

“The campus was safely evacuated and university officials worked closely with law enforcement authorities to ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff. This task force, comprised of stellar experts in higher education and public safety, will help us all learn from the UMass Dartmouth experience,” Caret said.

Page 2 of 2 - University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees Chair Henry Thomas added: “I want to commend Chancellor Grossman for forming this panel of experts to conduct a comprehensive examination of the campus response to an unprecedented challenge.

“I am proud of UMass Dartmouth for its handling of this crisis and its willingness to engage in serious self-examination for the good of the entire university,” Thomas added.

Cruzado, the task force chairwoman, was honored as the Michael Malone Educator of the Year by Montana Ambassadors in 2011. In November 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama appointed her to the Board of the International Food and Agricultural Development.

Prior to becoming UConn’s president, Dr. Herbst was executive vice chancellor of the University System of Georgia. She was on the faculty of Northwestern University from 1989-2003, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education. She also served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the State University of New York at Albany from 2005-2007, and was dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University from 2003-2005.

James Bueermann became president of the Police Foundation in Washington, DC after serving in the Redlands Police Department in California for 33 years. He was Chief of Police there from 1998 to 2011. Bueermann was the first police chief to be inducted as an Honorary Fellow in the Academy of Experimental Criminology and was an Executive Fellow at the U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice. He also served as a Senior Fellow at George Mason University.